Hi Everyone,
Sometimes I get into a mood for searching weird things on the web. I like reading papers from other countries. Seems that we are more alike than not. Especially when it comes to common sense or the lack thereof. A few weeks ago, while perusing the web, an article in the Daily Mail, a British newspaper, caught my eye and then some...
The paper reported that a local new start-up manufacturer had made and sold more than 10,000 bras. Now these weren't just any ordinary bras. They were, what the company said, were high tech made bras!? Not long after women started wearing them, a few surprising problems became quite evident. The problems were unique and unprecedented stated the Daily Mail. But what was even more surprising, was the fact that the problems didn't affect the wearers what so ever. The problems affected the general public at large. What???
Apparently the support wire in these new fangled bras had been made out of a kind of copper wire that was originally and specifically designed for the sole use in very special home alarm systems. So get this... when the copper wire came in contact with nylon and body heat, it produced static electricity. The static electricity then interfered with any cell phone, tablet etc., etc., near the wearer of the bra. Then the unthinkable happened, anyone with a pace maker in close proximity to the wearer of the bra, but not the wearer, reported problems with their pace makers. The Chief Engineer of British TeleCom, Lirpa Sloof, stated that she had never heard of such a problem and that they are looking into all of the reported occurrences and will report on their findings.
Now I can't necessarily fault the company for the weird coincidences that produced the problems. Who could have foreseen such problems occurring by making bras? So who can I fault? Well, all I can say is.. April Fools!!! No such thing ever happened. What did happen was I came upon a web site called, The Museum of Hoaxes and their top 100 April Fool's. This one is #17. Oh and by the way, the phony engineer's name is April Fools spelled backwards.
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Lost!?
Hi Everyone,
Who knew that Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 with 239 passengers and crew could mimic the ABC TV show Lost. Almost each and every day, for the past week, the search perimeter for the missing 777 jet has increased to the point where now it includes a lot more land areas north of the Indian Ocean. When I first learned of the missing plane, I questioned why the search perimeter did not originally include the full distance the plane could fly with the amount of fuel it departed with, since there was no report or any evidence of the plane crashing.
As the investigation progressed, it is apparent that the person who was flying the plane, manually turned off the plane's transponder, which sends signals and data to whatever ground flight controllers can receive it. The person flying the plane knew exactly when to turn off the transponder, before Vietnam ground controllers would receive the plane's signals. But turning off the transponder didn't stop the plane from automatically emitting an hourly ping to the closest satellite that could receive the signal. That is how investigators were able to determine that shorty after the transponder stopped sending its signal, the plane made an almost 180 degree turn and flew back over Malaysia. Why didn't Malaysia flight controllers pick up the plane on its radar while it was flying over? After flying over Malaysia, the plane then made a few more turns before eventually heading north over the Indian Ocean. The last ping received was almost 7 hours after the transponder was turned off. But, today's blog isn't about the screw ups with the initial and continuing search efforts for the plane.
Today's blog is about just one thing, flight 370's and at least all other Boeing plane's transponders. I would like to know what idiot(s) came up with the idea and what imbecile(s) approved the idea, that plane transponders could and should be allowed to be able to be shut off by someone in the cockpit? What good does it serve by shutting it off? Of course the answer is, it does nothing good, only bad. Turning off the transponder made the plane virtually invisible, except for the hourly pings. Whoever shut it off, knew that no one could then track its whereabouts. Common sense was certainly not on any ones radar when they allowed that option available to cockpits. I mean really, what the hell were they thinking? Obviously, in hindsight, it is a terrible idea and now a plane is missing and this is 2014, not 1914. The only solution to stopping this from ever happening again, is to disconnect that option ASAP!
I certainly don't know any more info than anyone else on what exactly happened with Flight 370. But since there have been no reports of a plane crashing, or any debris found so far, here are my guesstimates as to what may have happened. 1) Maybe one of the pilots, or someone else on board, commandeered the plane to fly it to some remote landing strip to steal the plane or its cargo or take hostages. Or, 2) maybe the plane crashed on some remote, uncharted island and now the Lost TV show becomes reality. Of course I am only guessing, but no one would be guessing if that transponder had not been allowed to be turned off.
Til next week.
Peter
Who knew that Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 with 239 passengers and crew could mimic the ABC TV show Lost. Almost each and every day, for the past week, the search perimeter for the missing 777 jet has increased to the point where now it includes a lot more land areas north of the Indian Ocean. When I first learned of the missing plane, I questioned why the search perimeter did not originally include the full distance the plane could fly with the amount of fuel it departed with, since there was no report or any evidence of the plane crashing.
As the investigation progressed, it is apparent that the person who was flying the plane, manually turned off the plane's transponder, which sends signals and data to whatever ground flight controllers can receive it. The person flying the plane knew exactly when to turn off the transponder, before Vietnam ground controllers would receive the plane's signals. But turning off the transponder didn't stop the plane from automatically emitting an hourly ping to the closest satellite that could receive the signal. That is how investigators were able to determine that shorty after the transponder stopped sending its signal, the plane made an almost 180 degree turn and flew back over Malaysia. Why didn't Malaysia flight controllers pick up the plane on its radar while it was flying over? After flying over Malaysia, the plane then made a few more turns before eventually heading north over the Indian Ocean. The last ping received was almost 7 hours after the transponder was turned off. But, today's blog isn't about the screw ups with the initial and continuing search efforts for the plane.
Today's blog is about just one thing, flight 370's and at least all other Boeing plane's transponders. I would like to know what idiot(s) came up with the idea and what imbecile(s) approved the idea, that plane transponders could and should be allowed to be able to be shut off by someone in the cockpit? What good does it serve by shutting it off? Of course the answer is, it does nothing good, only bad. Turning off the transponder made the plane virtually invisible, except for the hourly pings. Whoever shut it off, knew that no one could then track its whereabouts. Common sense was certainly not on any ones radar when they allowed that option available to cockpits. I mean really, what the hell were they thinking? Obviously, in hindsight, it is a terrible idea and now a plane is missing and this is 2014, not 1914. The only solution to stopping this from ever happening again, is to disconnect that option ASAP!
I certainly don't know any more info than anyone else on what exactly happened with Flight 370. But since there have been no reports of a plane crashing, or any debris found so far, here are my guesstimates as to what may have happened. 1) Maybe one of the pilots, or someone else on board, commandeered the plane to fly it to some remote landing strip to steal the plane or its cargo or take hostages. Or, 2) maybe the plane crashed on some remote, uncharted island and now the Lost TV show becomes reality. Of course I am only guessing, but no one would be guessing if that transponder had not been allowed to be turned off.
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, March 9, 2014
What to Do With the Unwanted?
Hi Everyone,
For years I have read a lot about how foreign or invasive species have been damaging our ecosystems here in the United States. Invasive species includes plants and fish to mammals. I learned that one of the biggest threats to endangered species isn't hunting, climate or pollution. It is other animals, specifically, invasive species. Invasive species overrun new territory since they have no natural predators. Consequently, they upend the balance of nature and crowd out native species.
From a Time magazine article regarding the same, they comprised a list of some of the worst invasive species:
Species Country of Origin Invaded Threat
Black Spiny Tailed Iguana Central America Florida Eat anything including birds
Asian Carp Asia Missouri & Voracious eaters that disrupt Mississippi rivers the food chain. They also jump
out of water, when hear motors.
Nutria South America Gulf Coast Eat marsh grasses which destroys
wetlands. Also make holes in
levees.
Lion-fish Pacific and Indian The Caribbean Venomous spines are dangerous
oceans to fish and people.
Armadillo Central and South Texas and the Eat anything including endangered
America Gulf Coast sea turtle eggs.
So how to control these invasive species is the question? From what I have read, I believe that the common sense solution is ......... the human appetite. Yes, you read that right! According to the article, if cooked correctly, Iguana tastes like a cross between crab and chicken. Carp tastes like cod. Nutria tastes like chicken. Lionfish tastes like cod and Armadillo tastes like pork. We humans, once we have acquired a taste for certain wild foods, have the potential to over fish and over hunt them to near extinction. So where is the problem of over fishing or over hunting these invasive species? They don't belong here and eating them really makes sense. The problem that I see is getting people to try them. If they like them, they should spread the word.
This is where I have to bring up my own experiences of eating not so normal fare. Since I am from the north east, alligator and snake are not found on menus here. During my travels for an international company, (the world's largest airline catering company, go figure), I made a few trips to Dallas, Texas. That is where, at an Outhouse Steakhouse, at different times, I tried both snake and alligator. Even though the people I was with said that they both tasted like chicken, I was a bit leery. I never knew anyone who had tried either one since it was and still not available around these parts. Much to my surprise, they both tasted great and they both actually did taste like chicken. I would have no hesitation eating them again.
I am sure there are other invasive species that I have not mentioned, lest we forget the wild boars in the Gulf Coast states. They were brought over by Spain, hundreds of years ago and now they are a huge problem, since they eat anything and everything and then some and then some more. And they taste like pork or ham or bacon.......
So to eliminate the above invasive species, my solution is to eat 'em. But first, someone has to catch them, then someone has to bring them to market, then someone has to cook them, then people have to try them and then the word must be spread. Bon Appetit!
Til next week.
Peter
For years I have read a lot about how foreign or invasive species have been damaging our ecosystems here in the United States. Invasive species includes plants and fish to mammals. I learned that one of the biggest threats to endangered species isn't hunting, climate or pollution. It is other animals, specifically, invasive species. Invasive species overrun new territory since they have no natural predators. Consequently, they upend the balance of nature and crowd out native species.
From a Time magazine article regarding the same, they comprised a list of some of the worst invasive species:
Species Country of Origin Invaded Threat
Black Spiny Tailed Iguana Central America Florida Eat anything including birds
Asian Carp Asia Missouri & Voracious eaters that disrupt Mississippi rivers the food chain. They also jump
out of water, when hear motors.
Nutria South America Gulf Coast Eat marsh grasses which destroys
wetlands. Also make holes in
levees.
Lion-fish Pacific and Indian The Caribbean Venomous spines are dangerous
oceans to fish and people.
Armadillo Central and South Texas and the Eat anything including endangered
America Gulf Coast sea turtle eggs.
So how to control these invasive species is the question? From what I have read, I believe that the common sense solution is ......... the human appetite. Yes, you read that right! According to the article, if cooked correctly, Iguana tastes like a cross between crab and chicken. Carp tastes like cod. Nutria tastes like chicken. Lionfish tastes like cod and Armadillo tastes like pork. We humans, once we have acquired a taste for certain wild foods, have the potential to over fish and over hunt them to near extinction. So where is the problem of over fishing or over hunting these invasive species? They don't belong here and eating them really makes sense. The problem that I see is getting people to try them. If they like them, they should spread the word.
This is where I have to bring up my own experiences of eating not so normal fare. Since I am from the north east, alligator and snake are not found on menus here. During my travels for an international company, (the world's largest airline catering company, go figure), I made a few trips to Dallas, Texas. That is where, at an Outhouse Steakhouse, at different times, I tried both snake and alligator. Even though the people I was with said that they both tasted like chicken, I was a bit leery. I never knew anyone who had tried either one since it was and still not available around these parts. Much to my surprise, they both tasted great and they both actually did taste like chicken. I would have no hesitation eating them again.
I am sure there are other invasive species that I have not mentioned, lest we forget the wild boars in the Gulf Coast states. They were brought over by Spain, hundreds of years ago and now they are a huge problem, since they eat anything and everything and then some and then some more. And they taste like pork or ham or bacon.......
So to eliminate the above invasive species, my solution is to eat 'em. But first, someone has to catch them, then someone has to bring them to market, then someone has to cook them, then people have to try them and then the word must be spread. Bon Appetit!
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, March 2, 2014
What Goes Around Comes Around
Hi Everyone,
In this country's insatiable appetite for energy, a large underground stash of oil has been found between Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. There is a whole lot of it, but the problem is that the oil is commingled with shale rock, which makes it extremely difficult to extract the oil. A process was developed that is able to separate the oil from the shale. That process is called hydraulic fracking. The process involves drilling a deep well and under high pressure, pumping in toxic chemicals that fracks the shale rock that then separates the oil and makes extracting it easy.
The biggest hurdle to more fracking, at least here in New York, is it that the "jury" is still out on whether the process is a safe one; especially for community and private wells, which could be contaminated by the highly toxic chemicals. The big oil companies say the process is safe, since the oil/shale is located far deeper than aquifers used for drinking water. Opponents state the opposite and say that the process can and does contaminate underground water sources. There are even videos on line where you can see people igniting the methane gas that comes out of their home faucets. Their homes are located near where fracking already takes place. But still the big oil companies say that it is safe. My opinion is that, if a pipe is placed very deeply in the ground, there is a high potential for the pipes to either crack or separate and which consequently releases the toxic chemicals into the ground and will contaminate the aquifers. Common sense tells me not to do it. The fracking process uses a ton of water that is mixed with the chemicals that are pumped onto the ground. Having to have a steady and large supply of water means that big water towers are erected at each fracking site. But, believe it or not, fracking in and of itself is not my main point in today's blog.
Today's blog is about ExxonMobil's CEO, Rex Tillerson. He is part of the big oil companies push and spread of the fracking process and repeatedly states that it is safe and not a problem to communities located near the sites. That is until that site is located near Tillerson's home in Bartonville, Texas. Tillerson has joined a lawsuit to stop the construction of a water tower, needed for the fracking process, near HIS home. Oh the irony here. The CEO pushes for fracking near other peoples homes, but when it comes to his own home, then he is against it. If it is so safe, why is he part of a lawsuit to stop the most important component of fracking??? His NIMBY attitude is highly questionable. If it is so safe, why is he fighting an integral part of it? Maybe because it isn't so safe? I think Tillerson speaks with forked tongue. As long as it isn't near his home, in his opinion, it is OK to frack. That speaks volumes and maybe the process should continue to be looked into. What does Tillerson know that everyone else doesn't know? Time will tell.
Til next week.
Peter
In this country's insatiable appetite for energy, a large underground stash of oil has been found between Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. There is a whole lot of it, but the problem is that the oil is commingled with shale rock, which makes it extremely difficult to extract the oil. A process was developed that is able to separate the oil from the shale. That process is called hydraulic fracking. The process involves drilling a deep well and under high pressure, pumping in toxic chemicals that fracks the shale rock that then separates the oil and makes extracting it easy.
The biggest hurdle to more fracking, at least here in New York, is it that the "jury" is still out on whether the process is a safe one; especially for community and private wells, which could be contaminated by the highly toxic chemicals. The big oil companies say the process is safe, since the oil/shale is located far deeper than aquifers used for drinking water. Opponents state the opposite and say that the process can and does contaminate underground water sources. There are even videos on line where you can see people igniting the methane gas that comes out of their home faucets. Their homes are located near where fracking already takes place. But still the big oil companies say that it is safe. My opinion is that, if a pipe is placed very deeply in the ground, there is a high potential for the pipes to either crack or separate and which consequently releases the toxic chemicals into the ground and will contaminate the aquifers. Common sense tells me not to do it. The fracking process uses a ton of water that is mixed with the chemicals that are pumped onto the ground. Having to have a steady and large supply of water means that big water towers are erected at each fracking site. But, believe it or not, fracking in and of itself is not my main point in today's blog.
Today's blog is about ExxonMobil's CEO, Rex Tillerson. He is part of the big oil companies push and spread of the fracking process and repeatedly states that it is safe and not a problem to communities located near the sites. That is until that site is located near Tillerson's home in Bartonville, Texas. Tillerson has joined a lawsuit to stop the construction of a water tower, needed for the fracking process, near HIS home. Oh the irony here. The CEO pushes for fracking near other peoples homes, but when it comes to his own home, then he is against it. If it is so safe, why is he part of a lawsuit to stop the most important component of fracking??? His NIMBY attitude is highly questionable. If it is so safe, why is he fighting an integral part of it? Maybe because it isn't so safe? I think Tillerson speaks with forked tongue. As long as it isn't near his home, in his opinion, it is OK to frack. That speaks volumes and maybe the process should continue to be looked into. What does Tillerson know that everyone else doesn't know? Time will tell.
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Out of Touch or Out of Their Minds?
Hi Everyone,
Unfortunately, as I have said, too many times before and yet again today, I have to say it again. What the hell is wrong with so many politicians these days? Have they no compassion? Have they no link with reality? Have they no common sense? I have answered that last question, many times before with a definitive no, they absolutely have no common sense what so ever. Of course I am not saying this about all politicians. But unfortunately, in more cases then not, more politicians are proving that they do not have the wherewithal to lead and should be voted out of office asap.
The latest round of idiot politicians is occurring right now in Ramapo, New York. Like other states, New York State has a list of financially stressed municipalities. This list was issued by the state Comptroller's Office in June 2013. Where do you think Ramapo is ranked? If you said first, you would be wrong, but ah so close. In first place for most financially stressed municipality is Monroe County, which includes the city of Rochester. Ramapo is ranked second. Almost all of Rockland County has financial problems, but Ramapo earns the blue ribbon for having the worst, seemingly endless, financial problems.
So what do you do when you have financial issues and are in the red? Lay off employees and/or don't replace employees who have retired or resigned through attrition. Ramapo did reduce the number of their employees. So instead of saving those monies, the Ramapo Supervisor, Christopher St. Lawrence decided to give raises to his department heads effective last month. His raises are as follows:
1) Director of Purchasing: 39% increase, from $105,000 to $145,866 = $40,866 increase.
2) Town Clerk: 19% increase, from $122,614 to $145,866 = $23,252 increase.
3) Justice Court Clerk: 14% increase, from $118,949 to $135,707 = $16,758 increase.
4) Director of Parks and Recreation: 10% increase, from $140,644 to $156,271 = $15,627 increase.
5) Highway Maintenance Supervisor: 9.2% increase, from $129,311 to $141,207= $11,896 increase.
6) Dir. of Bldg, Planning & Zoning: 8% increase, from $150,623 to $163,721 = $13,098 increase.
------------------
Total for just 6 people = $121,497 increase.
The question that begs to be asked is... what is the justification for these large pay increases that totaled at least $121,497? According to the Supervisor, departments have downsized, i.e.: the purchasing department went from 3 employees to 2. So therefore, more work equals more money. It may almost make sense until you remember that Ramapo is the second worst financially stressed municipality in New York State. Ramapo has not been able to get their financial house in order for years and years. So in his, (Supervisor's) infinite wisdom, whatever savings came from downsizing, has now been given to a few management positions. Again they haven't learned their lesson on how to run their town. When will they learn?
So are they out of touch or out of their minds? The answer is resoundingly and very unfortunately yes to both!!! How sad for the residents.
Til next week.
Peter
Unfortunately, as I have said, too many times before and yet again today, I have to say it again. What the hell is wrong with so many politicians these days? Have they no compassion? Have they no link with reality? Have they no common sense? I have answered that last question, many times before with a definitive no, they absolutely have no common sense what so ever. Of course I am not saying this about all politicians. But unfortunately, in more cases then not, more politicians are proving that they do not have the wherewithal to lead and should be voted out of office asap.
The latest round of idiot politicians is occurring right now in Ramapo, New York. Like other states, New York State has a list of financially stressed municipalities. This list was issued by the state Comptroller's Office in June 2013. Where do you think Ramapo is ranked? If you said first, you would be wrong, but ah so close. In first place for most financially stressed municipality is Monroe County, which includes the city of Rochester. Ramapo is ranked second. Almost all of Rockland County has financial problems, but Ramapo earns the blue ribbon for having the worst, seemingly endless, financial problems.
So what do you do when you have financial issues and are in the red? Lay off employees and/or don't replace employees who have retired or resigned through attrition. Ramapo did reduce the number of their employees. So instead of saving those monies, the Ramapo Supervisor, Christopher St. Lawrence decided to give raises to his department heads effective last month. His raises are as follows:
1) Director of Purchasing: 39% increase, from $105,000 to $145,866 = $40,866 increase.
2) Town Clerk: 19% increase, from $122,614 to $145,866 = $23,252 increase.
3) Justice Court Clerk: 14% increase, from $118,949 to $135,707 = $16,758 increase.
4) Director of Parks and Recreation: 10% increase, from $140,644 to $156,271 = $15,627 increase.
5) Highway Maintenance Supervisor: 9.2% increase, from $129,311 to $141,207= $11,896 increase.
6) Dir. of Bldg, Planning & Zoning: 8% increase, from $150,623 to $163,721 = $13,098 increase.
------------------
Total for just 6 people = $121,497 increase.
The question that begs to be asked is... what is the justification for these large pay increases that totaled at least $121,497? According to the Supervisor, departments have downsized, i.e.: the purchasing department went from 3 employees to 2. So therefore, more work equals more money. It may almost make sense until you remember that Ramapo is the second worst financially stressed municipality in New York State. Ramapo has not been able to get their financial house in order for years and years. So in his, (Supervisor's) infinite wisdom, whatever savings came from downsizing, has now been given to a few management positions. Again they haven't learned their lesson on how to run their town. When will they learn?
So are they out of touch or out of their minds? The answer is resoundingly and very unfortunately yes to both!!! How sad for the residents.
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, February 16, 2014
The Pope Said It Best
Hi Everyone,
Even though I am not Catholic, I do follow what happens with the Pope. Some of Pope Francis' statements have been very open and honest and a bit surprising, especially the statement he made regarding gay and lesbians.
But, a couple of weeks ago, Pope Francis had a statement of his read to the business and political leaders assembled at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The jist of his statement was about better care for the poor. But one sentence really caught my eye. Pope Francis' statement included, "I ask you to ensure that humanity is served by wealth and not ruled by it". What a great common sense and thought provoking idea.
Just imagine what our world would be like if the wealthy abided by his words. That is not to say that the Gates' and Buffet's of the world aren't already doing that. But there are many more wealthy people who could and should follow their lead. Things that we take for granted: clean water, food, and shelter, should be available to all, but is especially needed in poor third world countries.
Enough said!
Til next week.
Peter
Even though I am not Catholic, I do follow what happens with the Pope. Some of Pope Francis' statements have been very open and honest and a bit surprising, especially the statement he made regarding gay and lesbians.
But, a couple of weeks ago, Pope Francis had a statement of his read to the business and political leaders assembled at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The jist of his statement was about better care for the poor. But one sentence really caught my eye. Pope Francis' statement included, "I ask you to ensure that humanity is served by wealth and not ruled by it". What a great common sense and thought provoking idea.
Just imagine what our world would be like if the wealthy abided by his words. That is not to say that the Gates' and Buffet's of the world aren't already doing that. But there are many more wealthy people who could and should follow their lead. Things that we take for granted: clean water, food, and shelter, should be available to all, but is especially needed in poor third world countries.
Enough said!
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, February 9, 2014
The Solution is Available Now!
Hi Everyone,
It started happening last November, but the realization of the enormity of what actually took place, took a while to figure out. There is an excellent article in the February 10th issue of Time Magazine, that is all about this big problem that is just getting bigger and bigger. What am I talking about? I am talking about the hackers who were able to steal from 100 million Target customers, who used a credit card; their account numbers, names, email addresses and other info. Then the same thing unfortunately happened to customers at Neiman Marcus and Michaels stores.
How did this security breach into big businesses occur and could it have been prevented? The answers are simple and yes. Once the hackers got into their computer systems, they downloaded malware which enabled them to receive the data from each card swipe from the store's point of sales, (checkout registers). They were also able to get the info in real time. FYI, in all these cases, it didn't matter whether the customers used a credit or debit card. Any and all info was still stolen.
But could these hacking's have been prevented? How? Again, the answer is simple. Some European banks have already switched from using magstripe cards, which are used in this country, to chip and PIN cards. The difference between the two? Magstripe cards is 40 year old technology and have 3 lines of info: the first and the third lines are used by the bank or card issuer. Your vital info is on the second line. The malware specifically looks for this second line and captures all that info. Whereas the chip and PIN cards makes counterfeits and skimming impossible. When you swipe the card, your personal info is encrypted via the chip. The card also contains a pin number that the purchaser must enter correctly at each and every transaction or the transaction gets rejected. Seems so simple, so why don't we have them in this country?
Of course, money is the reason these new chip and PIN cards are not being used here. The cost of a magstripe card is $1 and the cost for chip and PIN card is $3. The U.S. has approximately 5 billion magstripe credit and debit cards. Multiply the two of them and the replacement cost is around $15 billion. That is a whole lot of greenbacks. Then there is also the cost to businesses to have the point of sales technology to accept the new cards. But finally, let's not forget about credit and debit card fraud. They say that there is approximately $12.4 billion in card fraud on a global basis in 2013. With 44% of that in the U.S., American credit card fraud amounts to about $5.5 billion per year. You can see where this is going...... card issuers have figured out that it is still cheaper to pay off the yearly losses due to fraud, than to pay for the new cards.
Side B of this whole problem is not about card issuers losses, but the losses of the card issuers customers who have had and will, in the future, have their identities stolen. The stress and strain of trying to fix your identity and get your credit score repaired, which may take years to fix, is a terrible fate that the card issuers have bestowed on everyone affected; all because of the amount of money it would cost to replace all of their outdated cards.
Where is the common sense for paying off card fraud every year, year after year, instead of replacing the old tech with new tech and let it pay for itself from the savings from not having to pay off the fraud? Well, app-equipped smart phones and digital wallets use this new tech and are now taking a bite out of the card issuers bottom line. Serves them right.
Til next week.
Peter
It started happening last November, but the realization of the enormity of what actually took place, took a while to figure out. There is an excellent article in the February 10th issue of Time Magazine, that is all about this big problem that is just getting bigger and bigger. What am I talking about? I am talking about the hackers who were able to steal from 100 million Target customers, who used a credit card; their account numbers, names, email addresses and other info. Then the same thing unfortunately happened to customers at Neiman Marcus and Michaels stores.
How did this security breach into big businesses occur and could it have been prevented? The answers are simple and yes. Once the hackers got into their computer systems, they downloaded malware which enabled them to receive the data from each card swipe from the store's point of sales, (checkout registers). They were also able to get the info in real time. FYI, in all these cases, it didn't matter whether the customers used a credit or debit card. Any and all info was still stolen.
But could these hacking's have been prevented? How? Again, the answer is simple. Some European banks have already switched from using magstripe cards, which are used in this country, to chip and PIN cards. The difference between the two? Magstripe cards is 40 year old technology and have 3 lines of info: the first and the third lines are used by the bank or card issuer. Your vital info is on the second line. The malware specifically looks for this second line and captures all that info. Whereas the chip and PIN cards makes counterfeits and skimming impossible. When you swipe the card, your personal info is encrypted via the chip. The card also contains a pin number that the purchaser must enter correctly at each and every transaction or the transaction gets rejected. Seems so simple, so why don't we have them in this country?
Of course, money is the reason these new chip and PIN cards are not being used here. The cost of a magstripe card is $1 and the cost for chip and PIN card is $3. The U.S. has approximately 5 billion magstripe credit and debit cards. Multiply the two of them and the replacement cost is around $15 billion. That is a whole lot of greenbacks. Then there is also the cost to businesses to have the point of sales technology to accept the new cards. But finally, let's not forget about credit and debit card fraud. They say that there is approximately $12.4 billion in card fraud on a global basis in 2013. With 44% of that in the U.S., American credit card fraud amounts to about $5.5 billion per year. You can see where this is going...... card issuers have figured out that it is still cheaper to pay off the yearly losses due to fraud, than to pay for the new cards.
Side B of this whole problem is not about card issuers losses, but the losses of the card issuers customers who have had and will, in the future, have their identities stolen. The stress and strain of trying to fix your identity and get your credit score repaired, which may take years to fix, is a terrible fate that the card issuers have bestowed on everyone affected; all because of the amount of money it would cost to replace all of their outdated cards.
Where is the common sense for paying off card fraud every year, year after year, instead of replacing the old tech with new tech and let it pay for itself from the savings from not having to pay off the fraud? Well, app-equipped smart phones and digital wallets use this new tech and are now taking a bite out of the card issuers bottom line. Serves them right.
Til next week.
Peter
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